The NYPD’s new point man in the war on terror once sat face to face with Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden — for a network television interview.
John Miller, a former CBS News senior correspondent, was tapped by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Thursday to head the NYPD’s ongoing efforts to keep the city safe. Miller, 55, replaces David Cohen, who retired in December as deputy commissioner of intelligence.
The gap in experience between Miller and Cohen is staggering, leading some to question whether Bratton made the right choice.
Cohen has 40 years of intelligence experience, including a dozen with the NYPD during which his counterterrorism efforts helped thwart 16 terror plots in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks. Miller served as head of the Counterterrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau under Bratton with the Los Angeles Police Department from 2003 to 2005.
The difference in résumés between those two men didn’t bother Bratton.
“John’s been in the inner sanctums of government on issues of gathering intelligence analysis,” he said. “He’s going to be a phenomenal addition to this department and city security.”
A high-ranking counterterrorism official told the Daily News that the head-scratching decision to put a former television reporter in such a critical position could have serious ramifications. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the pick will be ridiculed around the globe by terrorists.
The official added that there were far more experienced options and that Miller is going to be up against challenges in New York that he’s never seen.
Still, Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), a member of the Homeland Security Committee, praised Miller’s selection.
“John is very qualified,” he said. “I know Dave Cohen did a great job, but John is qualified. Certainly in Los Angeles, he was involved in setting up their first counterterrorism operation.”
Miller, who first worked for Commissioner Bill Bratton as the NYPD’s chief spokesman in 1994-95, starts his new job Monday.
“He will be working closely with the intelligence entities in the department,” Bratton said. “But he will be more than that. He will also be one of my key advisers in many respects.”
Bratton noted that Miller is a friend of more than 20 years, and praised his long career in both television news and law enforcement.
Miller, originally from Montclair, N.J., joined the FBI as a spokesman before moving to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, eventually becoming deputy director of its analysis division.
His national intelligence responsibilities included providing the feds with cutting-edge technology to ensure collaboration and communication between the spy agencies. The agency was founded in response to the 9/11 attacks, and Miller’s job was created due to U.S. intelligence failures in Iraq.
Miller’s celebrated sitdown with Bin Laden came in 1998, when most of the world remained unaware of the bearded, bomb-plot mastermind’s role in international terrorism.
The journalist was also renowned during his time in New York for his coverage of mob boss John Gotti.
Cohen spent three decades in intelligence before joining the NYPD with Commissioner Raymond Kelly in 2002. Cohen did five years as the CIA associate director for intelligence, dealing directly with the White House.
Many New Yorkers were unfamiliar Thursday with Miller, who started his journalism career earning $2 an hour for the since-disappeared WNEW-TV.
Brooklynite Jessica Rodriguez wasn’t convinced he has the chops.
“I’m not comfortable with him,” said the 32-year-old Bushwick resident. “He’s really a journalist. He’s only reported on terrorism. How do we know if he’s lived it?”
With Kerry Burke, Rocco Parascandola and Jennifer Fermino
